Women's
health and menopause is a rapidly expanding field of medical practice
and scientific investigation. Today, most women live long enough to
become postmenopausal. This international and multidisciplinary monograph
is based on extensive international review and evaluation of the scientific
evidence for current clinical practices as presented in the published
literature. It represents the culmination of 7 years of cooperation
between the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and
the Giovanni Lorenzini Medical Science Foundation (Milan, Italy
and Houston, TX) in a public/private partnership in the development
and cosponsorship of four international conferences on Women's Health
and Menopause since the mid-1990s. The first three conferences were
held in Italy, and the most recent one was held in May 2001 in Washington,
DC. The last two conferences were also cosponsored by the Office
of Research on Women's Health (ORWH), National Institutes of Health
(NIH).

These conferences have addressed not only cardiovascular disease, but
also other health problems, such as cancer, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer's
disease, as well as the use and impact of hormone replacement therapy.